Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I just want to point out that today's editorial in the Daily Freeman is pretty disgraceful. The Freeman continues to distort our Assemblyman's record and I find it appalling. They pretty much accused our Assemblyman of being a yes man for Shelly Silver because he sponsored a piece of legislation with Speaker Silver and could not recall the specific legislation when confronted by a lobbyist in what appears to be an informal and hostile manner. Or so they say, the Freeman does not include in it's editorial what the legislation was or what the other side of the story is. Instead, they lift an article from the NY Times, analyze it completely out of context and take the word of some lobbyist.

First, here is a list of some of the legislation that our Assemblyman has co-sponsored :

A long and impressive list if you ask me. I think it is perfectly reasonable especially since the Freeman gave no context to the year the bill was sponsored, that Kevin may not of remembered a bill when put on the spot. It takes time to go back and look it up and give a detailed answer, which Cahill offered to do. And, of course, the Freeman knows that is the case. The Freeman should stop their vendetta against Cahill and other progressive Democrats. Is it any wonder why Assemblyman Cahill refuses to talk to a "news" paper that continues to smear him on a regular basis?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Majority Leader Joe Bruno must be shaking in his cowboy boots tonight after his once large majority has shrunk to a single seat after Democrat Assemblyman Darell Aubertine defeated William Barkely in a special election tonight in the 48th Senatorial district that has a huge GOP advantage.

Expect Governor Eliot Spitzer to roll out the red carpets and offer GOP Senators in key districts nice easy jobs in his administration to take back the State Senate. Our own Senator John Bonacic is rumored to be considering switching his party registration and becoming a Democrat. Bonacic also lives in a key district and could be one of the Senators to be asked again to join the administration. In which case Sue Zimet would easily win a special election for the seat. Whether it's now or in November, the writing is on the wall for the Dems to take back the Senate.

Also on a side note Stuart Fraser went down and campaigned for now Senator-elect Aubertine and that's not unusual. Mr. Fraser is someone that really does great things for our party. Not only is he someone that is always willing to help you out but the type of guy that will go all the way to Oswago County to campaign for a special election that will benefit our party. Kudos to Stuart Fraser.

Aubertine got 27,712 votes, compared to Barclay's 25,001 votes, according to the unofficial breakdown of election results from the three counties that cover the district:

Monday, February 25, 2008

The Kingston Laws and Rules Committee unanimously recommended that smoking be banned in all City owned property. The penalty for violation would be $100.

This is really a no-brainier, the effects of smoking and second hand smoke are extremely dangerous and Innocent bystanders on City property should be protected.

One example of how this will improve the quality of life for Kingstonians is this: After the Kingston hospital banned smoking on their property, hospital employees go over and smoke at city hall. Senior citizens coming to pay their taxes should not have to breath that smoke. While hospital employees are moving to city hall, in the long run they will be sending City Hall employees to Kingston Hospital.

I commend Alderman Ringwood and urge all the members of the Kingston Common Council to vote in favor of this.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

I said in November when Mr. Hein first announced that I was going to wait until late February or early March before I looked at this race for County Executive. Over those months, I have had time to research what the qualifications are for the position and in my opinion there is no one that is qualified to lead this county as our first executive more than Mike Hein. As County Administrator Mike Hein has shown the proven leadership skills to lead this county in the right direction. I will be pleased to support him to be the Democratic nominee for Ulster County Executive.

With that being said, there is a fundraiser for Mr. Hein next month that I encourage people to attend. Details below.

You are invited to Join the Committee to Elect Mike Hein as the First Ulster County Executive

I got a call tonight from former Ulster County D.A. Don Williams today and he had left a message about coming on my show to discuss the social host law that he has spearheaded. I give Mr. Williams a lot of credit for that, I had some concerns and he has reached out to me to address them. I'm working to set up a date to have Mr. Williams on my show in the near future. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Williams, he is a person who has dedicated his life to public service, I'm confident that his appearance on my show will inform the public as well as myself on this new law. More details as they develop.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli came down to Kingston for a round table discussion between business leaders and elected officials in Ulster County. There was a lot of talk about the discussion of the upstate economy and the state of Ulster County. Comptroller DiNapoli referred to Ulster County as above the curve on many key issues in New York State.

After the round table discussion which I only caught the last five minutes of, there was a smaller round table for the "press" which consisted of Jesse Smith, of the Kingston Times and myself getting about a half hour of one on one time with our Comptroller which was exciting and informative. There is no doubt in my mind that the State Legislature, Cahill included, made the right choice in picking DiNapoli. I found Comptroller DiNapoli to be very knowledgeable about our fiscal issues and and extremely down to earth.

Paula Leonard a former Ulster Town Justice and current Ulster Police Commisioner suffered a heart attack and is undergoing emergancy surgery. I ask that people keep Justice Leonard in your thoughts for the next few days. More details as they become available.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Jim Leshkevich a white supremacist who went by the name "Yankee Jim", shot his wife Deberah Leskhevich, an employee of the Onteora school district, and then hung himself after finding out his wife was having an affair.

State police at the Ulster barracks said they went to 213 Morgan Hill Road at 11 a.m. after co-worker's of Deborah Leshkevich voiced concern about her well-being. Police said that, once inside the house, they found Mrs. Leshkevich, 55, dead in a bedroom and the body of her husband James, 52, in an attached garage.

Jim Leshkevich was one of the organizers of a rally in Kingston last year headed by Hal Turner.

Last night, Leshkevich left a rambling post on his blog about his wife's affair (www.thehudsonvalleyfreeman.blogspot.com), in the post he wrote, "This will also be the last post on The Hudson Valley Freeman for a while. I'm just too depressed over all this to continue. Hopefully that'll change in the future.Why the fuck did it have to end like this?!!!"

The blog post also goes into great details and names names....it's intresting to see how this guys mind works. Sourses say that Mrs. Leshkevich was in the process of getting a divorce. The situation is very tragic.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Jonathan Sennett the 2007 Democratic nominee for District Attorney, will be the first guest on my new show that will air live this Thursday at 8:30 on ch. 23. I'm honored to have Mr. Sennett on my first show back and I encourage people to watch and call in.

The Blaber News poll that was conducted this last week shows that 51% of people feel that the City of Kingston should fund public access. There is a finance meeting this Thursday at 7:30pm. I encourage people to go out and tell the committtee how you feel. The chair and memebers of Kingston's finacne committee are good resonable people and will listen.

Assemblyman Marcus Molinaro will be a guest on my new show on March 6th at 7:30pm. Molinaro first appeared on my show when he was running for Assembly and I'm glad to have him back on. Assemblyman Molinaro represents the 103rd district of the New York State Assembly.

Also, I'll be doing a poll on the naming of my new show, it used to be be Late Night w/ Jeremy Blaber, now that I'm on at 8:30 I need to change it.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Kingston Mayor Jim Sottile has confirmed that he will appoint Tom Hoffay in May to replace Alderwoman Ringwood who is moving out of the area. Jim Sottile has made a great descion and I think the residents of Ward 2 will be well served.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Last night, I called Supervisor Woerner and we had a long conversation about public access and it's risk of shutting down. Nick was very receptive to the need to keep public access alive and the benefit and potential that it has for this community. Supervisor Woerner pledged at the public access commission meeting tonight, to go to his town board and have them provide $5000.00 to keep the station alive.

At the commission meeting tonight Supervisor Woerner also spoke about working with the commission on improvements, "I'm here to say that I want to be a partner with public access and work with you in your efforts to continue to raise money and improve programing to make public access the best that it can be, I'll be at this meeting, the next meeting and the meeting after that to help you achieve these goals," said Woerner.

This $ 5000.00 will be the town's commitment for 2008, and will hopefully be an annual thing to help with operating expenses. The money breaks down to a little more than $1 per subscriber, and will come out of the town's general fund. Woerner added that one of the goals he will be working with the commission on is to become financially self sufficient.

This is a great thing and I really commend Nick and the Town of Ulster for stepping up to the plate and making sure that public access continues. I think people should come to the town hall meeting on Thursday at 7 pm and thank the town board and Supervisor Woerner for recognizing the importance of supporting our local public access.

I encourage the City of Kingston and other townships to follow Woerner's example. While the money provided is a great start and more than Ulster's fair share, there is a long way to go to keep public access running. I know Lisa Alt is meeting with a person that may want to contribute money privately and that's great. However, the other town's must step up to the plate.

On a semi related note: I will be resuming my show on Thursday nights at 8:30pm. I hope to do a story about a possible co-host in the near future

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Mayor Sottile is expected to pick Alderwoman Ringwood's successor this Friday, whoever is appointed will serve on the council until the end of the year, a special election will take place in November. Alderwoman Ringwood is resigning as of May1st and relocating out of the area.

At this point the odds on favorite is Tom Hoffay, a former Chairman of the Ulster County Democratic party and the smartest person that I know. Tom Hoffay is a Kingston native and life long Ward 2 resident...if you followed the recent elections, that alone should be enough.

Tom Hoffay is without a doubt the most qualified to continue the efforts to improve the quality of life of the 2nd Ward that Jen has championed during her tenure. Hoffay has a great deal of understanding about the issues of the Ward and the issues currently facing the City of Kingston.

I'm confident that Mayor Sottile recognizes Hoffay's attributes and will appoint him on Friday to be the next Alderman of the 2nd Ward.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

We have all heard the rumors and rumblings over the possible closing of Kingston Public Access TV on February 29th due to lack of funds to maintain operations. The KPA commission has asked that the City of Kingston take $10,000 from the City's general fund to provide emergency funding for the station.

Some producers have claimed that the Mayor and certain Aldermen want to silence them because they are critical of the current administration. I disagree with that logic, the criticism is not working...the Mayor and his Council all won reelection. I do believe that the Mayor and certain Aldermen are hesitant to fund KPA because of a current commission that refuses to hold producers accountable to the rules and procedures that they have adopted. Also, there is an outstanding $3,000 liability that the Commission owes the City that needs to taken care of.

At this point the deadline for the Council to give money to KPA has passed and in order to maintain funding the Commission needs to raise $800 to continue for another month.

During that month the Commission must immediately make an appointment with the Cable Committee and the Mayor to find a way to agree on funding. My suggestion would be for the Council to make the Commission do the following :

By March 5th Enforce all the current rules that are in place; which includes cutting back all hour long programing to a half an hour.

By March 10th Present the council with a full accounting of all monies that have been raised and spent. As well as providing the Council with a budget that will include what the City funding would be used for.

By March 15th Come up with a payment plan between the KPA Commission and the City Comptroller's office to pay back the $3,000 that is currently owed to the City.

By March 20th Present to the Council a plan to become self sufficient. The City of Kingston should not be paying for KPA on a permanent basis.

After all these milestones are met, then the City's Cable committee should recommend to the full council to take the necessary money out the general fund to pay for KPA. Public Access is an important tool that has been abused by many for a long time. I think if the Council is shown that KPA will work with them and enforce their own rules, they will be willing to help KPA get on it's feet.

"I think that when you have a professional such as Mr. Sennett locating here, it shows the confidence that he has within the Kingston community."- Kingston Mayor Jim Sottile

The Kirkland Hotel is set to have it's grand opening in early March after sitting dormant for many years. I recently had an opportunity to tour the building and it looks great! While I'm too young to remember what the building looked like before it was abandoned, if you look at the before and after pictures in Sunday's Freeman, you will see that RUPCO has made every effort to restore the building to it's original condition.

When reopened the Kirkland will have seven apartments, a restaurant and office space available. Jonathan Sennett, the 2007 Democratic nominee for D.A. is attempting to negotiate a lease for about 1,000 square feet in the Kirkland for his law practice.

The historical character of the building and it's location drew Sennett to the Kirkland. Being in the newly renovated Kirkland, which is listed in the State and National registers of historic places, is an exciting proposition. It will be great working in close proximity to the courthouse, said Sennett.

Will Maksuta, an Ulster County resident has decided to run for County Executive. Maksuta who said that he is frustrated with party politics and almost gave up hope, decided to run after the record turn out during the presidential primaries. "The record turnout for last week's presidential primary has shown me that our citizens have not lost hope. This November, nationwide voters will elect a president in numbers sure to dwarf any previous general election turnout. Here, in Ulster County, voters will also elect their first county executive. This is the only chance a true populist candidate has to break through the incestuous political landscape of county politics and gain office on a tide of true popular support"

Mr. Maksuta noted that most of the candidates running will be compromised by party loyalty and that voters need a candidate that is willing to change the system. Maksuta admitted that while his campaign's limited recourses make his candidacy a long shot, he "could no longer remain silent"

Robert DiBella, husband of Alderwoman Anne Marie DiBella is running for a seat on the Kingston School Board. Beside the many conflicts of interest that his candidacy causes, it is my opinion that Mr.DiBella is being pushed by his wife to run. Alderwoman DiBella would like nothing more than to get back at me for my criticism of her over the last few months. I could be wrong, either way I welcome the challenge and look forward to debating Mr. DiBella on the very important issues that face the district.

I also expect that incumbent Trustees Maureen Bowers and Rev.Coston will both run for reelection. Both Mrs. Bowers and Rev.Coston have done a tremendous job and I strongly support their reelection efforts.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Former Ulster County District Attorney Don Williams' proposed local law that would prohibit minors from consuming alcohol on private property will be voted on next month by the Ulster County Legislature. Williams first proposed the law in December and in concept it's a good idea, however there is room for improvement.

As written, the law appears only to define terms, define the offense, indicate that there can be exceptions, as spelled out by the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Law … such as for religious observances... and set a penalty, of not more than 15 days in jail, or a fine of not more than $250.

Don Williams says this at least will start an educational process.... however, it's the educational process that is lacking.

In my opinion there should some sort of educational process tagged on to this law especially when your dealing with kids..having their parents pay a $250 fine does not address the root cause of the problem.

There is also the issue of how the punishment will be given, if your a middle class family I'm sure that you will pay the $25o fine and be on your way. If your struggling and having a hard time making ends meet, then I guess you do the 15 days in jail..sound fair and just?

I urge the Ulster County Legislature to bring this back to committee and look into all of this with a little more detail before it's rushed into law.

Mitt Romney suspended his campaign today after a poor showing on Super Tuesday. Mitt Romney's departure from the race will lead the way for a Democrat to be elected in 2008. While Romney was a weak candidate compared to Clinton or Obama, he appealed to the Conservatives that put George W. in office twice. With McCain all but assured to be the Republican nominee, a lot of core Conservatives will stay home.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster, Dutchess) has been named Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee. “I am honored to have been selected to lead the Assembly in this capacity,” said Assemblymember Cahill. “I will work with the Governor and the Senate to advance energy policies that promote clean, renewable power that will lessen our collective carbon footprint, enhance air quality, reduce consumer costs and encourage economic development.”

During his tenure in the Assembly, Mr. Cahill has been a leader in promoting sound policies that have addressed the state’s energy needs while stressing conservation, efficiency, cleanliness, consumer protection and planning. As Chair of the Science and Technology Commission and Vice Chair of the Steering Committee, he helped shape the Assembly’s energy agenda over the last decade and guided the development of economic development initiatives like the successful Power for Jobs program.

“In my new capacity, I intend to continue to promote innovations in clean, renewable technology as one of the keys to the revitalization of our economy,” said Mr. Cahill. “Investing in alternative energy projects, like The Solar Energy Consortium here in the Hudson Valley, has the potential to create many well-paying jobs for New Yorkers across the state while positioning New York as a worldwide leader in energy research and development.”

“Over the twelve years that Kevin Cahill has served in the Assembly, he has earned a reputation as a dedicated and effective legislator who gets results for his constituents and all New Yorkers,” Silver said. “As chair of the Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee for the past three years, he has repeatedly shown his commitment to integrity and the highest standards of ethics. I know that he will bring the same level of dedication and effectiveness to his leadership of the Energy Committee.”

"Kevin Cahill is an outstanding choice for energy chairman. He has had a proven track record of fighting on behalf of consumers and, undoubtedly, he will bring that same dedication and focus to his new assignment," said Paul Tonko, President and CEO of NYSERDA. "I look forward to working with him in his new leadership post."

In a few hours across America, polls will open and voters will begin to select who they want to have represent their party in the general election this November. For political junkies like myself this is the real Super Bowl and it'll be very exciting to see history be made tomorrow. Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, I encourage people to participate in this historic primary.

On the Republican side tomorrow spells the end for Ron Paul, Mike Hucabee and Mitt Romney. John McCain has the momentum to lead the straight talk express across the finish line and capture his party's nomination. The GOP has once again put up a slate of candidates that are dull, boring and consist of more than the same. To think that an 80 year old white man that is obsessed with staying in Iraq for an additional 100 years, speaks wonders to how out of touch the Republicans are with main stream America.

On the Democratic side it's a very interesting race, no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, history will be made. For the first time ever, a major party will nominate a woman or an African American to lead their ticket. The debates and the ideas of the two candidates running are exciting and inspiring, it gives America a chance at hope for the first time in a long while. The race is a close one and most likely will not be decided tomorrow but I think we will have a clue of to who the front runner will be. It should be interesting.

I encourage Democrats to go out tomorrow and vote for Hillary Clinton. Hillary is by far the most qualified to lead our country on day one. Hillary will provide the change that we need in America.Hillary is the only candidate that has a true universal health care plan and she has a solid plan to bring our troops home withen 90 days of taking office.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Barack Obama once again has proved to be the ultimate hypocrite, Obama claims to want to rise above Washington style attack dog politics; yet he puts out an ad that is just that. We can't entirely blame Obama, his campaign staff sees the writing on the wall and is getting more desperate by the day. We would expect however that his attacks would be original and truthful and not distortion straight out of the GOP play book. The below ad released by Obama is the classic Harry and Louise attack ad that ran in 1992 funded by the GOP, in response to Hillary's first attempt to make health care available for all Americans.

What the Obama campaign fails to mention is that his plan leaves over 16 million Americans uninsured. The plan is done in a cowardly way to try and appeal to both sides of the aisle. Senator Clinton continues in her quest as an advocate for affordable health care for all Americans. The bottom line is that Obama's plan falls short.

About 45 Hillary supporters packed into Portabella's to watch a very lively debate between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. It was a fun night and it's clear from the energy in the room last night that Senator Clinton will do very well on Super Tuesday.

A shot of the crowd

Councilwoman Debra Silvestro and Mari Anne Sennett

Blaber with Legislator Jeanette Provenzano ... I know I look awful... I have a bad cold and was not feeling well. That's Alderman Landi, giving me horns.. and, yes, he actually believes I'm the devil.